Request for specification

[Wazza]

Hi all,

I'm looking for a ~£1,600 laptop to play modern games (currently playing New World) at ~ 1080, high frame rates, but am comfortable to turn off shadows and reduce textures. I normally have several other programs (like discord/chrome/note taking) open in the background. I would prefer a 17inch, however most of the time it will be hooked up to the monitor so a 15" would likely be fine.

As a baseline I'm using a Dell (non-gaming rig) with i5-8400 CPU @ 2.80GHz, 2808 Mhz, 6 Core(s), 6 Logical Processor(s), 16 gigs and a 1060 and an older Solid state hard drive. It's sufficient for most of my needs, although the CPU does bottleneck it with some games (like everquest which can't utilise the GPU, or X4 that is CPU intensive).

My main driver is that with a kid around the house I sometimes want to be able to go to a different room so that I can chat quite loudly with my friends as I'm playing.

I did buy laptop back in 2012 from here, but it fried after 3 years, so I'm also looking for something that has a build quality to last for 4 years at least.

I appreciate that I didn't post a build, however looking at all this conversation around tongfang/clevo and MQ versions of graphics cards any build I put forward would probably give people the assumption that I knew what any of that meant.

Thanks all.

 

[Tron1982]

Hey, hello !
(please accept my apologies if my english is not perfect ^^")

For better help, could you please answer these questions :
What kind of monitor will you pair your laptop with ?
What kind of laptop do you want ? thin with good portability ? thicker with more power, but less batterie life ?
(did you find a chassis that you like more than the other ?)
Will you just use it for game or other software ?

I think it's not bad for a good start ^^

 

[Wazza]

Hi Tron,

Thank you for your speedy response.

• I've currently got 2 monitors setups in different rooms; 1 is a IPS widescreen (2560x1080 I think) and the other is a 27" asus gaming 4k gaming monitor that I also have my xbox plugged into.
• Portability as secondary, mostly to move around the house.
• Honestly the chassis' looked all the same, would be great to have a numpad though!
• Gaming 95% of the time, also sometimes do some light video editing.

 

[Tron1982]

You're welcome ^^

What do you think about this one :

Chassis & Display
Destian Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 240Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 3200MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3060 - 6.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 6900MB/R, 5000MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Destian Series Detachable 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.2 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.2 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
15" DESTIAN SERIES UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Chassis
Clevo NH55VPY (6GB RTX-3060, 240Hz N7, Blank KB)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 8 working days
Price: £1,616.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/destian-15/4m2fMQRC87/


So, let me explain why i chose this one :
*It's a Desktop Replacement, so it has a desktop cpu inside a laptop chassis, so, it should last long enough ^^
(and if the cpu bottleneck you, you should be able to swap it for a new one if it has the same socket ^^)
The cpu power downside is that the batterie will not last long when you'll be unplugged
*For your budget, i chose the 3060, i think it will be enough ^^
*I propose you 2 SSD as it's better (one for the OS and game, the other for data)
- the first one is the samsung 980pro because it's the best one available (and it's a pcie 4.0)
- the second one is the 970 samsung, but you can chose any other one you want ^^
*16go is enough for gaming and i choose the best frequency as amd "love" it
*if you want, you can upgrade the wifi card for 5£, but the ax200 work fine for me ^^


If you want a 17", i'll look at a spec for you later ^^

 

[Wazza]

Thanks for the recommendation. I have a few questions:

1. With a full cpu in a 15inch laptop will it not dangerously hot?
2. is it a full fat 3060, or some sort of limited version?
3. I've got bad memories of AMD, but I think that must have been the drivers on their graphics card, are there any big issues with their CPUs?

 

[Tron1982]

So,
1) the chassis is 30mm thick, and i'm pretty sure it has 2 fans, so i think it will be okay (i have a 17" recoil, the other DTR clevo chassis, a 44mm thick laptop with an i7-11700k and the heat is okay, the cpu can became hot, but the fan manage the heat without to much trouble ^^)
I'm not telling you that the laptop will not become hot, but it will be in the range of the cpu thermal limit ^^
2) it the same as the 3060 you find in other laptop (i believe there is only one kind of 3060, you may find different whattage in 3070 and 3080, but for the 3060, i think it's the same everywhere)
For the 3070, pcs told me that it's the max-p (my sister bought a destian with the 3070)
3) nowadays, amd is better than intel - i don't tell intel don't work, just amd is better ^^ (safer, less hot, cheaper, and so on - there is a thread that explain you everything on the forum if you want ^^)

Do you have any other question ? do you want that i look for a 17" chassis ?

 

[Wazza]

Hi Tron, I'm thinking that I'll remove the second HD and up the first one to 1 TB and use that money I've saved to upgrade to the 3070.

I'm trying to find out more information about the Destian chassis, but honestly the fact that it's only you talking about that laptop here leaves me concerned (although on the otherside of the same coin there are no issues raised about it on troubleshooting forums)

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hi Tron, I'm thinking that I'll remove the second HD and up the first one to 1 TB and use that money I've saved to upgrade to the 3070.

I'm trying to find out more information about the Destian chassis, but honestly the fact that it's only you talking about that laptop here leaves me concerned (although on the otherside of the same coin there are no issues raised about it on troubleshooting forums)

Destian is the PCS branding of it, only PCS use that. For reviews you'd have to look up the chassis make and model. If you post a quote to forum, at the bottom it has the chassis make and model, Google that.

 

[Wazza]

Much appreciated. FYI my latest build (ok to go slightly over for the gold membership)

Chassis & Display
Destian Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 240Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six Core CPU (3.7GHz-4.6GHz/35MB CACHE/AM4)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 3200MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 3070 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 5000MB/W)
AC Adaptor
1 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Destian Series Detachable 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
Wireless Network Card
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (2.4 Gbps) + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.2 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.2 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
15" DESTIAN SERIES UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Dead Pixel Guarantee
1 Year Dead Pixel Guarantee Inc. Labour & Carriage Costs
Chassis
Clevo NH55VRQ (8GB RTX-3070, 240Hz N7, Blank KB)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 5 to 8 working days
Price: £1,737.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/destian-15/p!75pVNqy9/

 

[Tron1982]

Hey, the build look nice to me.
But you should take win10 instead of win 11, otherwise, everything look good to me ^^
(you will love the performance ^^)

 

[Wazza]

Bought it with windows 10 - will provide feedback when I get it! Thanksk Tron & Spyder

 

[Wazza]

Hey @Tron1982 how do you handle the very noisy fans? I can see that the CC only has 4 presets and no option to change them. It sounds like a hovercraft. This is even at 44% fan usage.

 

[Tron1982]

Hey,
I have to admit that i don't really know what to say ... ^^"

What kind of preset option do you use ?
I suggest you the "entertainment" mode.

And after that, i know that i set my fan on manual mode to speed them a little bit, so the laptop is cooler for a longer time and the fans don't have to run wild ^^"

But otherwise, i don't really know what to say ^^"

I hope i managed to help you a little ^^"

 

[Wazza]

I was using entertainment and once the fans hit 40% they became very noisy. What % do you run your fans on and so you use a cooling pad or anything? I could even hear the fans in the next room.

 

[Tron1982]

I was using entertainment and once the fans hit 40% they became very noisy. What % do you run your fans on and so you use a cooling pad or anything? I could even hear the fans in the next room.

AT 40% !? Oo
Wow ...
It's ... strange ... ^^"
I'll answer you for the fans settings this evening.
And i don't use any cooling pad

I'll ask my sis what are the fan noise she got at 40 ish %

 

[Wazza]

Thanks. The noise between 30 and 40 is what I was expecting from my previous laptop. I've ordered a cooling pad (it's currently on a metal stand so has clear fan space)

 

[FerrariVie]

AT 40% !? Oo
Wow ...
It's ... strange ... ^^"
I'll answer you for the fans settings this evening.
And i don't use any cooling pad

I'll ask my sis what are the fan noise she got at 40 ish %

The destian chassis is basically the same (or very similar) to my 2019 Nova, so I know how noisy 40%+ is indeed. I use it at around 23% for everyday low loads and at that level is very quiet, but anything above 30% is quite audible and 40%+ is loud. I don't remember what is the fans % that I use for gaming, but will get it latter today and post here.

Thanks. The noise between 30 and 40 is what I was expecting from my previous laptop. I've ordered a cooling pad (it's currently on a metal stand so has clear fan space)

I also have only a meshed metal stand and it works for me, but my CPU is only a Quadcore R3, so it produces a lot less heat than yours.

My advice is to use quiet mode when you're not gaming/rendering. It should still give you more than good enough performance for everyday tasks and be quieter than usual. But for gaming, there are only limited things you can do and most people are not willing to do some of those:

• Reducing the max FPS can do wonders for noise. If you're not into eSports and shooters, 100+ FPS is just a waste of resources. I don't play online shooting games, so when I want to play my racing, strategy or adventure games and still have the laptop relatively quiet, I adjust the max FPS according to the game type: (around 70 for strategy, 90 for racing, etc.). But for those times when I'm not concerned about noise, then unlimited FPS it is.
• Getting rid of Control Center and using third-party software will offer you more flexibility for CPU clocks and fan control, but will also give you quite a lot more trouble to set them up.

I went for both of those options , but I personally don't mind any of that. I prefer having more options and spending time setting them up my way, instead of letting Control Center do it in the way it thinks is best.

 

[FerrariVie]

So my CPU fan curve is like the below:
0-60°C: 24% (daily usage)
61-65°: 31% (when opening Google Chrome )
66-75°: 38% (gaming is here for most of the time, but depending on how heavy the game is)
76-79°: 45% (loud, but tolerable.... my CPU stays up to this level 99% of the time, even with light OC. Almost never beyond that)
80-84°: 53% (Cyberpunk with RT was the only game that make it get to this level)
85-87°: 66%
88-91°: 84%
92°+: 100%

I find the GPU fan not so loud, so leave it at a higher percentage:
0-55°C: 25%
56-60°: 45%
61-67°: 55%
68-73°: 63%
74-77°: 70%
78-80°: 77%
81-82°: 86%
83°+: 100%

 

[Wazza]

Thanks @FerrariVie . What do you use to have so many points in your CPU/Fan curve? CC 3 that's installed only has 2 movable points. I was playing X4 last night and the CPU was getting to 88° :/

 

[Tron1982]

Hello,

there is my 2 points curve for my gpu and cpu

gpu :
-55% fan speed at 46°
-100% at 65%

cpu :
60% at 55°
90% at 70%

It still a little bit loud, but what i found is that the gpu fan help for the whole cooling effect without that the cpu fan have to run wild ^^"
and so, it more quiet (quieter ?) that way, even if the fan speed is a little bit higher than with the automatic "mode"


But a 88° for a cpu is really fine ^^
they are designed to go up to 100°, so ... ^^


I hope this will help you ^^